Flat lading, such as stacks of lumber, has been tied to the deck of a flatcar by chains, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,706. Chains, however, require tensioning devices forming a part of the tiedown, which must be stored when the car is empty and are expensive and heavy. Chains are also subject to theft, which is quite common in certain areas.
In order to reduce theft of the chains, double banding has been used, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,866. Double banding, however, has utilized compression units to attach the banding to the sides of the car, which are stored beneath the deck of the car and attached to the car by chains, welded to the sides of the car. These unit, including the springs and chains, must be lifted when banding the load. This increases the effort required to band the load and does not confine or protect the load against lateral shift. The units are otherwise objectionable due to their flexibility with the result that the units tend to flop around when in transit and not in use.
By the present invention, single banding is used and anchoring units are adjustable to the width of the load. These anchoring units are close coupled, but compressible blocks in the anchoring units allow angular movement of the units when the load shifts longitudinally. The anchoring units also are cammed to lean against the load into firm engagement with the sides of the load as the bands lift the anchoring members by taking up of tension on the bands and compressing the elastomeric members.
An advantage of the present invention, therefore, is the reduction in effort required to band the load and the positive engagement and leaning of the anchoring members into engagement with the sides of the load.
A further advantage is in the non-elasticity of the banding members, guiding the load when longitudinal shift occurs, and conforming to the load without overloading the bands.
A further advantage is the positive holding of the load from lateral shifting and the accommodation of the load to shift longitudinally due to impacts on the car.
A still further advantage in the invention is the arrangement of the system for single strand banding and the ability of the anchoring units to take care of different widths of bands as required to effectively hold a load to a flatcar.
Another advantage of the invention is the arrangement of the anchoring units to be cammed into engagement with the sides of the car as the bands are tensioned over the load.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel conecpts of the disclosure.